HB 1617

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to voting systems; amending s. 20.10,
3	F.S., relating to the organizational structure of the
4	Department of State; specifying that the Bureau of Voting
5	Systems Certification and the Bureau of Voting Systems
6	Security are located within the Division of Elections;
7	creating s. 101.018, F.S.; creating the Bureau of Voting
8	Systems Security for the purpose of ensuring the security
9	of voting systems used in the state; specifying the duties
10	of the bureau; requiring that the bureau provide a monthly
11	report to the director of the Division of Elections and
12	the Secretary of State; requiring that any identified
13	security problem be remedied within a specified period;
14	providing that a manufacturer that fails to remedy a
15	security problem is subject to a fine for each day of such
16	failure; authorizing the division to adopt emergency rules
17	following the failure of a manufacturer to remedy a
18	medium-level or high-level security problem which occurs
19	proximate to a primary or general election; amending s.
20	101.5606, F.S.; requiring that voting systems approved by
21	the Department of State allow the voter to correct an
22	error in voting; requiring that such systems produce a
23	paper record, be furnished with illumination, be equipped
24	with an audio-stimulus voting feature, and include a sip-
25	and-puff switch attachment; amending s. 101.5612, F.S.;
26	revising the testing requirements for electronic or
27	electromechanical voting systems that are configured to
28	include electronic or electromechanical tabulation
29	devices; requiring that each device be tested; providing
30	effective dates.
31
32	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
33
34	Section 1.  Subsection (2) of section 20.10, Florida
35	Statutes, is amended to read:
36	20.10  Department of State.--There is created a Department
37	of State.
38	(2)  The following divisions of the Department of State are
39	established:
40	(a)  Division of Elections.
41	1.  Bureau of Voting Systems Certification.
42	2.  Bureau of Voting Systems Security.
43	(b)  Division of Historical Resources.
44	(c)  Division of Corporations.
45	(d)  Division of Library and Information Services.
46	(e)  Division of Cultural Affairs.
47	(f)  Division of Administration.
48	Section 2.  Section 101.018, Florida Statutes, is created
49	to read:
50	101.018  Bureau of Voting Systems Security.--
51	(1)  There is created a Bureau of Voting Systems Security
52	within the Division of Elections of the Department of State
53	which shall be responsible for ensuring the security of the
54	voting systems that are certified for use in this state.
55	(2)  The bureau shall:
56	(a)  Continuously test the hardware and software of the
57	voting systems for the purpose of identifying security problems.
58	(b)  Test any voting system in response to a credible
59	published report of security problems.
60	(c)  Notify the manufacturer of the voting system if a
61	security problem is identified.
62	(d)  Work with the manufacturer of the voting system to
63	develop a remedy for the identified security problem.
64	(3)  The bureau shall provide a monthly written report to
65	the director of the Division of Elections and the Secretary of
66	State for each certified voting system which must, at a minimum:
67	(a)  Identify each security problem;
68	(b)  Identify the source of any potential security breach
69	resulting from the problem as "external," such as a security
70	breach involving voters, or "internal," such as a security
71	breach involving employees of the supervisor of elections, poll
72	workers, or manufacturer's field representatives;
73	(c)  Detail the scenarios in which the potential threat
74	could be realized;
75	(d)  Discuss the likelihood of success for each of the
76	scenarios;
77	(e)  Identify the scope of the potential threat, detailing
78	factors such as the number of machines that might be impacted,
79	the number of votes that could be affected in a statewide
80	election, and the number of counties that could be affected; and
81	(f)  Based on paragraphs (a)-(e) and any other relevant
82	factors, classify the security threat posed by the problem as
83	"high," "medium," or "low."
84	(4)(a)  A security problem that is identified in the
85	bureau's report must be remedied within 60 days after the
86	manufacturer receives notice of the problem or 14 days before
87	the next regularly scheduled primary or general election,
88	whichever occurs first. A problem shall be considered remedied
89	when the bureau so certifies in writing to the division director
90	and, in the case of a high threat, to the Secretary of State.
91	(b)  Any manufacturer who fails to remedy a security
92	problem shall be fined $25,000 per day for each day following
93	the period specified in paragraph (a). In addition, if the
94	failure to remedy a medium-level or high-level security problem
95	is proximate to a scheduled primary or general election, the
96	division shall adopt emergency rules to protect the integrity of
97	the voting process.
98	Section 3.  Effective January 1, 2008, section 101.5606,
99	Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
100	101.5606  Requirements for approval of systems.--No
101	electronic or electromechanical voting system shall be approved
102	by the Department of State unless it is so constructed that:
103	(1)  It permits and requires voting in secrecy.
104	(2)  It permits each elector to vote at any election for
105	all persons and offices for whom and for which the elector is
106	lawfully entitled to vote, and no others; to vote for as many
107	persons for an office as the elector is entitled to vote for;
108	and to vote for or against any question upon which the elector
109	is entitled to vote.
110	(3)  It immediately rejects a ballot where the number of
111	votes for an office or measure exceeds the number which the
112	voter is entitled to cast or where the tabulating equipment
113	reads the ballot as a ballot with no votes cast.
114	(4)  For systems using marksense ballots, it accepts a
115	rejected ballot pursuant to subsection (3) if a voter chooses to
116	cast the ballot, but records no vote for any office that has
117	been overvoted or undervoted.
118	(5)  It is capable of correctly counting votes.
119	(6)  It permits each voter at a primary election to vote
120	only for the candidates seeking nomination by the political
121	party in which such voter is registered, for any candidate for
122	nonpartisan office, and for any question upon which the voter is
123	entitled to vote.
124	(7)  At presidential elections it permits each elector, by
125	one operation, to vote for all presidential electors of a party
126	or for all presidential electors of candidates for President and
127	Vice President with no party affiliation.
128	(8)  It provides a method for write-in voting.
129	(9)  It is capable of accumulating a count of the specific
130	number of ballots tallied for a precinct, accumulating total
131	votes by candidate for each office, and accumulating total votes
132	for and against each question and issue of the ballots tallied
133	for a precinct.
134	(10)  It is capable of tallying votes from ballots of
135	different political parties from the same precinct, in the case
136	of a primary election.
137	(11)  It is capable of automatically producing precinct
138	totals in printed, marked, or punched form, or a combination
139	thereof.
140	(12)  If it is of a type that which registers votes
141	electronically, it will permit each voter to privately and
142	independently change his or her vote for any candidate or upon
143	any question appearing on the official ballot, or correct any
144	error, up to the time that the voter takes the final step to
145	register his or her vote and to have the vote computed.
146	(13)  It is capable of providing records from which the
147	operation of the voting system may be audited.
148	(14)  It uses a precinct-count tabulation system.
149	(15)  It does not use an apparatus or device for the
150	piercing of ballots by the voter.
151	(16)  It produces and retains a voter-verified permanent
152	paper record having a manual audit capacity that records each
153	vote to be cast and that is viewed by the voter from behind a
154	window or other device before the ballot is cast.
155	(17)  It is furnished with illumination sufficient to
156	enable the voter to read the ballot while in the booth.
157	(18)  It is equipped with an audio-stimulus voting feature
158	that communicates the complete content of the ballot in a human
159	voice and permits a voter who is blind or visually impaired to
160	cast a secret ballot using, at the option of the voter, voice-
161	only or tactile-discernible controls.
162	(19)  It includes a sip-and-puff switch voting attachment.
163	Section 4.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
164	101.5612, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
165	101.5612  Testing of tabulating equipment.--
166	(4)(a)1.  For electronic or electromechanical voting
167	systems configured to include electronic or electromechanical
168	tabulation devices that which are distributed to the precincts,
169	all or a sample of the devices to be used in the election shall
170	be publicly tested. If a sample is to be tested, the sample
171	shall consist of a random selection of at least 5 percent of the
172	devices for an optical scan system or 2 percent of the devices
173	for a touchscreen system or 10 of the devices for either system,
174	as applicable, whichever is greater. The test shall be conducted
175	by processing a group of ballots, causing the device to output
176	results for the ballots processed, and comparing the output of
177	results to the results expected for the ballots processed. The
178	group of ballots shall be produced so as to record a
179	predetermined number of valid votes for each candidate and on
180	each measure and to include for each office one or more ballots
181	which have activated voting positions in excess of the number
182	allowed by law in order to test the ability of the tabulating
183	device to reject such votes.
184	2.  If any tested tabulating device is found to have an
185	error in tabulation, it shall be deemed unsatisfactory. For each
186	device deemed unsatisfactory, the canvassing board shall take
187	steps to determine the cause of the error, shall attempt to
188	identify and test other devices that could reasonably be
189	expected to have the same error, and shall test a number of
190	additional devices sufficient to determine that all devices are
191	satisfactory. Upon deeming any device unsatisfactory, the
192	canvassing board may require all devices to be tested or may
193	declare that all devices are unsatisfactory.
194	3.  If the operation or output of any tested tabulation
195	device, such as spelling or the order of candidates on a report,
196	is in error, such problem shall be reported to the canvassing
197	board. The canvassing board shall then determine if the reported
198	problem warrants its deeming the device unsatisfactory.
199	Section 5.  Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
200	act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.